Robot-assisted and thoracoscopic operations for esophageal cysts. Case series

Esophageal cysts are rare benign neoplasms, which are most often asymptomatic and detected incidentally during radiological studies. This article presents a series of three clinical cases of patients with esophageal cysts who underwent minimally invasive surgery at the Sechenov University Faculty Surgery Clinic between 2019 and 2023. Two patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic procedures, and one underwent robotic-assisted surgery using the da Vinci Si system for a bronchogenic cyst located in the cardia. All cases achieved favorable outcomes: no intra- or postoperative complications were recorded, and the patients were discharged 3-6 days after surgery. Two duplication cysts and one bronchogenic cyst were histologically verified. Analysis of literature data and our own results demonstrates that video-assisted thoracoscopic and robotic-assisted procedures are promising methods, providing less tissue trauma, a shorter hospital stay, and excellent cosmetic results.